U.S. Soccer Wire: November 3, 2008

NewsNov 3, 2008

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM TO FACE CHINA IN DETROIT ON DEC. 17 AS ACHIEVE YOUR GOLD TOUR CONTINUES; U.S. U-17 WNT FACES FRANCE ON WEDNESDAY, NOV. 5, IN CRUCIAL FINAL GROUP MATCH OF 2008 FIFA UNDER-17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

U.S. WNT TRAVELS TO CINCINNATI AFTER 3-1 WIN AGAINST SOUTH KOREA IN RICHMOND, VA.: The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team made it four wins in four games on the 2008 Achieve Your Gold Tour, defeating South Korea 3-1 to open a three-game series that continues on Wednesday, Nov. 5, in Cincinnati (tickets) and concludes on Nov. 8 in Tampa (tickets). The gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team will return to Detroit for the first time in 15 years as the Achieve Your Gold Tour stops at Ford Field on Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets starting at $18 are now available through ussoccer.com, by phone at 248-645-6666 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout the Detroit area (including Macy’s and FYE). Tickets can also be purchased at the Ford Field ticket office Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Groups of 20 or more can obtain an order form at ussoccer.com or call 312-528-1290. Special edition U.S. Soccer on-field seats are available for $150.

Achieve Your Gold Tour Schedule / Results

Date

Opponent

Venue; City

Result / Kickoff

U.S. Goal Scorer(s)

Sept. 13

Ireland

Lincoln Financial Field; Philadelphia, Pa.

2-0 W

Kai, O'Reilly

Sept. 17

Ireland

Giants Stadium; E. Rutherford, N.J.

1-0 W

Kai

Sept. 20

Ireland

Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Ill.

2-0 W

Chalupny, Markgraf

Nov. 1

South Korea

Univ. of Richmond Stadium; Richmond, Va.

3-1 W

Hucles, O'Reilly, Tarpley

Nov. 5

South Korea

Paul Brown Stadium; Cincinnati, Ohio

7:30 p.m. ET

Nov. 8

South Korea

Raymond James Stadium; Tampa, Fla.

7 p.m. ET

Dec. 17

China

Ford Field; Detroit

7:30 p.m. ET

U.S. U-17 WNT CONTINUE FIFA U-17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: The U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team rebounded from a loss in their first match, pulling out a 3-1 win against Paraguay in its second Group C match at the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. The USA will now meet France on Nov. 5 at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium in the final Group C match for both teams with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. The U.S. is in Auckland in preparation for the all-important match against France that kicks off at 4 p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET on Nov. 4). Fans can follow all the action on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. The U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team dropped a 3-2 decision to a talented Japanese team in their first match of the tournament. [U.S. Under-17 WNT FIFA Women’s World Cup Homepage]

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR UPCOMING MNT QUALIFIER: Tickets are still available for the U.S. Men's National Team's upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying game on Nov. 19 against Guatemala. Kickoff at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., for the team’s last semifinal round qualifier is set for 6 p.m. MT, and the game will be televised live on ESPN2 and Galavision. Tickets ranging in price levels from $30 to $95 are now available online at ussoccer.com, by phone at 866-461-6556, at all Dick’s Sporting Goods locations in Colorado, and at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park ticket office, open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Groups of 20 or more can obtain an order form at ussoccer.com or call 312-528-1290. Visa® is the preferred card of U.S. Soccer.

U.S. MNT Semifinal Round Qualifying Schedule

Date

Opponent

Venue

Result / Time

U.S. Goal Scorer(s) / TV

Aug. 20

Guatemala

Etadio Mateo Flores; Guatemala City, Guatemala

1-0 W

Bocanegra

Sept. 6

Cuba

Estadio Pedro Marrero; Havana, Cuba

1-0 W

Dempsey

Sept. 10

Trinidad & Tobago

Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Ill.

3-0 W

Bradley, Dempsey, Ching

Oct. 11

Cuba

RFK Stadium; Washington, D.C.

6-1 W

Beasley (2), Donovan, Ching, Altidore, Onyewu

Oct. 15

Trinidad & Tobago

Hasely Crawford Stadium; Port of Spain, Trinidad

1-2

Davies

Nov. 19

Guatemala

Dick’s Sporting Goods Park; Commerce City, Colo.

6 p.m. MT

Live on ESPN2, Galavision

– U.S. YOUTH NATIONAL TEAMS UPDATE –

U-20 MNT TO HOLD TRAINING CAMP IN MADRID, SPAIN: U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Thomas Rongen has named 18 players that will travel to Madrid, Spain, from Nov. 15-23. The team will play games against club teams, with dates and opponents to be confirmed. The squad boasts nine professional players who play in seven different leagues around the world, including a pair from Germany’s Hertha Berlin in Bryan Arguez and Alfredo Morales and a duo from Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas in Josh Lambo and Anthony Wallace. Tristan Bowen of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Jorge Flores of Chivas USA and Abdusalam Ibrahim from Toronto FC round out the MLS contingent. All five of the domestically-based youth players play for clubs from the U.S. Soccer Development Academy: Gale Agbossoumonde (IMG Academies), Anthony Arena (Crossfire Premier), Bill Hamid (D.C. United Academy), Josh Hernandez (FC Dallas Juniors) and Zarek Valentin (PA Classics). Hamid replaces fellow U.S. U-17 Residency player Earl Edwards, who was named to the original roster. The U-20 Men’s National Team is preparing for CONCACAF Under-20 World Cup qualifying, which will take place in Trinidad early in 2009.

DICICCO NAMES 20-PLAYER ROSTER FOR FIFA U-20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team head coach Tony DiCicco has named a 20-player roster that will travel to Chile for the 2008 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, which takes place from Nov. 19 – Dec. 7. The roster features players representing 17 colleges across the country. Every game of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be shown on ESPN360.com and fans will be able follow the U.S. matches on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

UNDER-17 MNT HEADS TO FRANCE FOR EIGHT-DAY FOREIGN TRAINING CAMP: The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team is en route to Paris, France, for an eight-day foreign training camp that will include three matches. Head coach Wilmer Cabrera has named a 24-player roster that will face the Under-18 teams from Bretigny on Nov. 5 and PSG on Nov. 8. Those games will compliment the team's featured international match against France on Nov. 6 at Clairefontaine. The foreign training camp is part of the team's preparations as they attempt to qualify for their 14th consecutive FIFA Under-17 World Cup in April or May, when the qualifying tournament will be held in Mexico. Dates and venues for that tournament will be announced at a later date.

BOXX, SOLO NAMED FINALISTS FOR FIFA WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD: U.S. Women's National Team midfielder Shannon Boxx and goalkeeper Hope Solo have been named to the list of 10 candidates to receive the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year award. Also on the list are Nadine Angerer (Germany), Cristiane (Brazil), Daniela (Brazil), Marta (Brazil), Birgit Prinz (Germany), Christine Sinclair (Canada), Kelly Smith (England) and Ingvild Stensland (Norway). The winners will be revealed on Jan. 12 at the FIFA World Player Gala in Zurich.

FIFA GRANTS CHANGE OF DATES FOR UNITED STATES’ JUNE WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS: The two U.S. final round qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup originally scheduled for June 6-10 will now be played during the time period between June 3-7, according to a decision announced by FIFA. The world governing body allowed for an adjustment in the official coordinated calendar based on the USA's participation in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, which takes place from June 14-28 in South Africa.

U.S. SOCCER REFEREES NOMINATED FOR MLS AWARDS: MLS announced the finalists for its season end awards, with U.S. Soccer Referees Jair Marrufo and Terry Vaughn picking up nods for the 2008 Referee of the Year award. The pair will vie with Michael Kennedy for the award, which is to be given away on November 6 from MLS headquarters in New York. A full list of the season end awards is available at www.mlsnet.com.

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYOFFS CONTINUE: In the four MLS Conference Semifinal matches, only one game ended with a winner as Real Salt Lake defeated Chivas USA 1-0 on Saturday, Nov. 1, in Salt Lake City. The three other matches ended in draws as the New England Revolution and Chicago Fire tied 0-0, while the Houston Dynamo tied 1-1 with the New York Red Bulls and the Columbus Crew also tied 1-1 with the Kansas City Wizards. Action continues on Thursday, Nov. 6, as the second leg of the semifinals get underway with Chicago hosting New England at 7:30 p.m. CT. On Saturday, Kansas City travel to face Columbus at 7:30 p.m. ET and Chivas USA hosts Real Salt Lake at 7:30 p.m. PT. The last Conference finalist will be named on Sunday, Nov. 9, as the Red Bulls travel to Texas to take on Houston at 2 p.m. CT.

NATIONAL COACHING SCHOOLS TO TAKE PLACE IN JANUARY 2009: The 2009 U.S. Soccer Winter National Coaching Schools have been scheduled for the first week of January, giving every coach a chance to obtain a FIFA recognized “A,” “B,” or “C” level license and to increase their knowledge of the game. The National Goalkeeping License will be held Jan. 4-11 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., will host a National “B” and “C” License Course from Jan. 3-11. The University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla., will host a National “A” License Course from Jan. 3-11 and The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., will host a National “A-Audit” Course from Jan. 3-9 and a National “A” License Course from Jan. 3-11. There will also be a National “B” and “C” License Course held from Jan. 3-11 at a West Coast location to be determined. As always, space is limited for all National Coaching License courses. Registration is underway and coaches are encouraged to apply early to ensure a place in the course. More information on the National Coaching Schools is available at ussoccer.com.

*** CENTER CIRCLE SPOTLIGHT ***

PEAK PERFORMER: Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes are up to sixth place in the French Ligue 1 table, courtesy of a battling 1-0 victory over Socheaux. In the midst of his first season with Rennes, Bocanegra is part of a stingy defense that kept its eighth clean sheet of the domestic campaign on Sunday. Next up for Rennes is a trip to struggling St. Etienne next weekend. Bocanegra's team hosts Freddy Adu and Monaco on Nov. 16. Be sure to follow the action of all of our MNT players who play abroad on the U.S. Soccer Global Blog.

MARQUEE MATCHUP: The U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team struggled in their first match at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, rebounding against Paraguay in their second match to set up a critical third and final group match in New Zealand. The U.S. takes on France at 4 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Nov. 5, which means fans can follow the match live at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 4, on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

SOCCER SHOCKER: While soccer fans across the globe likely weren’t scratching their heads in bewilderment, fans in California, Colorado and Utah were certainly left with something to ponder. That something was a last minute goal on consecutive weekends from Real Salt Lake’s own Yura Movsisyan. Movsisyan stunned the Colorado Rapids during the final matchday of the MLS regular season, propelling the team to a 1-1 tie and a place in the playoffs with a goal in the 90th minute. On Saturday, Nov. 1, Movsisyan did it again, scoring in the 90th minute to defeat Chivas USA 1-0 in the first leg of the Western Conference semifinals.

QUOTABLE: “I’ve learned that soccer is very unpredictable and that you need to focus on the game at hand. Every game has its own challenges and you just never know what they are going to be so you have to be ready for anything. Any moment in a game can make a big difference in the outcome.” -- U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team forward Courtney Verloo, as she answers 10 Questions for ussoccer.com’s Center Circle (read now).